reminiscing

now that we're into the month of may, its got me doing a lot of thinking about this time last year. may of last year was my last month teaching english in spain. some of you may not know this but after i graduated college, i spent 9 months teaching english in cordoba, spain and it was an amazing experience. may was my last there and it was also by far the best month. in cordoba, may is the most exciting month of the whole year. people save up their vacation time to use it in this month so they can enjoy all the partying and not have to worry about work! its really crazy. i wish that i had started my blog last year but i really didnt even know about the blogging world at that time. i thought i would just share a little bit of my experience from that time because it has been on my mind so much lately. 

the celebration in may starts with the patios. so many houses in cordoba have little patios that people decorate with hundreds of dollars worth of flowers and decorations in hopes that they will win a prize for having the best patio. there are three actual routes of where you can go to see all of these beautiful houses. my friends and i (and hundreds of other people) would take walks at night just enjoying the patios and walking through the city. in the old part of town, the streets would be filled with people just drinking outside and listening to music and basking in the atmosphere of the night.

i worked at an elementary school and one day we went on a field trip to see the patios and the balconies with all the flowers. that day the girls would not leave my side haha. i think one of the things i miss the most about spain is walking and being outside all the time. when people had somewhere to go they just went and walked. the streets and the architecture are just beautiful, so different from what we are used to in the states. i think i calculated it and on any given day walking to and from school and my private lessons i would probably walk about 7-9 miles a day. its no wonder everyone over there is stick thin!

another huge attraction in may was the feria. this was one of the main reasons people took off work in may. i also heard that people would actually take out loans so that they could enjoy this ten day long celebration to the fullest. feria is like a county fair to the max. to the extreme. during the day its filled with kids and their families playing games, winning prizes, going on rides, and eating all the fair food you want. there are also hundreds of "tents" with different types of food and music being played. there is a tent for every age and every style of music. at night, this place turns into the biggest outdoor party scene imaginable. thousands of young and old adults alike gather to eat, drink, and dance. oh the dancing. and everyone would stay out until the break of dawn and even later. i can honestly say that one of my nights at the feria with all my friends is on my top ten days of all time list. such memories.

and finally, (for this post), i cant help but mention how much i miss my roomies. there were many times throughout our nine months together where i think we all just wanted to throw in the towel and say, see ya, spain! however, that last month in may i'm pretty sure we can all agree just how awesome of a time we had had together. i still crave our weekly taj mahal dates (our local indian restaurant), caña de españa dates where we would sit and drink tinto de verano for hours, cooking and hanging out in our moldy apartment, and overall just wondering the streets of spain together. 

if you're ever planning a trip to cordoba, spain, i would highly suggest going in the month of may :)